Neurodegeneration

The human brain is responsible for approximately 20% of our body oxygen consumption, therefore exposing itself to high levels of ROS. Many recent studies provided strong experimental evidence of involvement of oxidative stress in pathogenesis of age-related neurological disorders.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an age-related progressive neurodegenerative disease and the most common form of dementia. The causes of Alzheimer’s disease are not well understood, but several working hypotheses have been developed with oxidative stress being one of them. It has been shown that neurons in AD patients demonstrate significantly more damage in mitochondria compared to those in control patients. Additionally, mitochondrial dysfunction resulting in over-production of ROS has been widely implicated in the cause of AD.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is an age-related neurodegenerative disorder affecting the central nervous system. Although PD is a recognized multifactorial disease, a large body of evidence has implicated oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of PD. The conclusive connection between PD and oxidative stress is supported by the increased oxidative damage of sugars, lipids, nucleic acids, and proteins observed in postmortem dopaminergic neurons within the substantia nigra pars compacta of PD brains. Mitochondria have been claimed as dominant sites for oxidative stress-driven initiation and propagation in PD.

Several studies showed high potency of SkQ1 for treatment of age-related neurodegeneration disorders at cellular and animal model levels. Exceptional effectiveness of SkQ1 in targeting mitochondria and protecting it from oxidative stress supports our hopes for positive effect of SkQ in formal human trials as well.